A place to find out more about football and the girls who play it in Australia

Monday, September 28, 2009

Canberra United setting the trend again

So last year Canberra United coach Robbie Hooker went out on a limb and picked the youngest captain, by about five years, in the Westfield W-League - Ellie Brush. This year Brush turned 21, and as such won't be the youngest captain in the league, the new title goes to Brisbane Roar's new leader Clare Polkinghorne, 20.

But Canberra have still found a way to be out in front as trend-setters this year, under new coach Ray Junna. So let me introduce, United's co-captains Lydia Williams and Ellie Brush!

The pair - who celebrate their 10th anniversary playing together this year, they played in an ACT schoolgirls team together in 1999 - will share the captains arm-band this year. But who will have it for the first game this Saturday against Brisbane Roar? Both joked at the press conference yesterday that they would fight it out to decide.
So they will be the first co-captains in Westfield W-League history, but it will also be a first for Williams and goal-keepers overall as she said, "I think most people are hesistant about giving a goal-keeper the captaincy because really, you have to stay in the box, so if something happens up the field you can't run out and ask the ref what happened there, but I'm really happy I'm getting this chance and working with Ellie will be great too."
Williams has captained the Young Matildas before, in World Cup qualifiers in China, while this will be Brush's second consecutive season as a Canberra United captain.Pic thanks to Canberra United.